Scotland’s five and a half thousand childminders are providing high quality early learning childcare, according to the Care Inspectorate, and two new resources launched today will help them continue to improve experiences for children. Childminders care for children in their own home and the quality of the care they provide…

Cancer waiting times are the worst for 10 years, campaigners said, as new figures showed 13% of patients who are urgently referred do not start treatment in the target time. The Scottish Government's ambition is for 95% of those who are referred because cancer is suspected to be treated within…

An initiative to train GP receptionists in directing patients to different services if they do not require an appointment with a doctor has been trialled in parts of England. Some reception and clerical staff have been given enhanced roles as "care navigators" to help patients see the right person the…

There has been a huge jump in the number of patients enduring long waits on trolleys while a hospital bed is found for them, figures show. Data from NHS England shows the number of patients waiting more than 12 hours in England's A&E departments increased by 10,546% in five years…

The health watchdog issued warnings and suspensions to adult care homes offering poor or unsafe care at the rate of four a day over a year-long period, a report said. The Care Quality Commission launched 1,512 enforcement actions in 2016/17, an increase of more than 67% on the previous year.…

A care home resident who died after eating bleach tablets that looked like mints waited more than three hours for an ambulance to take him to hospital, an inquest has heard. Diabetic dementia patient Joe Serginson, 85, grabbed a tub from a cleaners' trolley and swallowed the dissoluble disinfectant as…

Flexibility in childcare services increased last year, with a higher proportion of providers offering longer opening hours and school holiday sessions, a new report has found. The Care Inspectorate said there was a "considerable increase" in the opening times of many daycare services such as nurseries and playgroups. It found…

Social workers are facing "intense pressure" to ration social care for some of the most vulnerable people in society, a report has claimed. Local authorities are "scrabbling" to fulfil their duties to provide care to the most vulnerable with "grossly insufficient resources", according to the Care and Support Alliance -…